The actress filed papers in Los Angeles on Friday (02Apr10), citing irreconcilable differences for the split.
She wed photographer Simon Wakelin, her second husband, on New Year's Eve (31Dec) in 2002.
Carrere is asking for sole custody of the couple's four-year-old daughter, Bianca.
The actress' first marriage to Elie Samaha also ended in divorce after seven years. She split from the producer in 2000.

Former cellmates Michael (Russell) and Murphy (Costner) are leaders of a posse that plans to pull off the heist of a lifetime: robbing the Riviera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas during International Elvis Week. This means of course adopting full-on spangled jumpsuits sunglasses and "thank yuh thank yuh vurry much"-es. But when Murphy turns against the crew to keep all the loot for himself Michael escapes with it instead and heads for the border to launder it. He's sidelined along the way by a dalliance with a grifter (Courteney Cox) and her young son. Meanwhile Murphy's hot on his trail.
Costner turned down the chance to play Russell's part to take on the villain instead - and he looks like he's having the time of his life. Less filled out but more amoral than his baddie in the underrated "A Perfect World " Costner bats well as a foil to Russell who shows a barely visible vulnerability under the necessary roughness. Cox to her credit does a complete 180 from her uptight role on "Friends" as the sexually aggressive con-chick Cybil. Christian Slater David Arquette and Bokeem Woodbine make small appearances as part of the Elvis crew Howie Long and Ice-T kick some tail and Kevin Pollak and the long-absent Thomas Haden Church ("Wings") provide comic relief as bumbling lawmen.
"3000 Miles to Graceland" may seem like a caper reminiscent of last month's "Snatch " except there's a lot of bloodshed particularly during the casino robbery where machine gun blasts fling people across the room to land on cha-ching!-ing slot machines. Novice director Demian Lichtenstein's music video background is evident in his Guy Ritchie-esque cuts zooms and a way-bizarre computerized scorpion fight that kicks off the movie (what was that about?). His style and the Vegas ambience give the film a kitschy edge that disappears once the guys shed their Elvis garb. Stay for the credits - you'll see a costumed Russell lip-synching in his own music video as Costner Cox and crew dance about.

The South invaded the North end of the box office chart this weekend as Sweet Home Alabama captured first place with a dazzling $37.5 million.
The Tuxedo celebrated in second place with a $15.1 million launch.
Barbershop finished third, holding well with $10.1 million. My Big Fat Greek Wedding was fourth with $9.8 million and a cume of $137 million on its way to $160 million, while The Banger Sisters retreated to fifth place with a sleepy $5.4 million.
Driven by Alabama, key films skyrocketed 43 percent over last year -- $99 million versus $74 million.
THE TOP TEN
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 rated romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama kicked off in first place to a record setting ESTIMATED $37.5 million at 3,293 theaters ($11,378 per theater).
Alabama's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Directed by Andy Tennant, it stars Reese Witherspoon. The record setting opening elevated Witherspoon to Hollywood's A List of movie stars who can generate long opening weekend box office lines.
With $37.5 million already in hand, Alabama is a safe bet to crack $100 million in domestic theaters. Given its opening, it would seem at this point that the low end is probably $115 million and the high end is probably $130 million. Using the industry's most basic projection formula of three times the opening weekend gross would put Alabama's likely domestic cume at $112.5 million, a number that feels low given the heat of opening weekend. More accurate projections of where Alabama is heading will be possible when we know how well it holds in its second weekend.
Coming on the heels of BV's success with its late summer blockbuster Signs, which has grossed over $221 million through this weekend, Alabama is another strong indication that the Disney company's movie division is performing very well, is well managed and is a strong competitor.
Alabama is also good news for MGM, which has Witherspoon starring in the sequel Legally Blonde 2: Red, White and Blonde, opening next July Fourth weekend.
"It's been quite a weekend for us," Buena Vista Distribution president Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "Spirited Away continues (and) looks great and Moonlight Mile opened very nice and smartly. We're going to expand that to 400 runs next week. And then Reese opens up and blows the doors off of September! What more can you say?"
Focusing on Alabama's sweet launch, Viane noted, "It's the highest September opening in history. The old one was the original Rush Hour at $33 million (the weekend of Sept. 18-20, 1998). So this clearly blows away that."
In addition, looking at the record books indicates that Alabama probably also ranks as the biggest romantic comedy opening ever, beating Runaway Bride's $35.06 million opening the weekend of July 30-Aug. 1, 1999.
While Disney knew Alabama was on track to open big, was the studio surprised at just how well the picture performed? "We knew it was going to open very, very well," Viane replied. "I knew we had a shot at the (September) record, but to be able to surpass it like this, that's what caught me off-guard. It's the absolute strength of the movie. We knew it was good. Obviously, we put (Reese Witherspoon) in the right vehicle and Andy Tennant made a great movie. But this is America's new sweetheart. Anyway you look at it, she just dominated this movie. She smiled and everything happened."
As for who was there opening weekend, Viane said, "Actually, from 12 to 80. It was everybody. Again, there are new types of family movies and this is one of them. It's a rating friendly movie (with a PG-13) families had every reason to believe everybody would like it. Friday night the teens came out. Last night and yesterday afternoon the families came out. Last night the adults came out and couples. Interestingly enough, even on Saturday night some 30 percent-plus of our audience was teenagers. That's very strong for a Saturday."
Pointing to the film's CinemaScore exit polls, Viane said, "Every group gave it an A. The men were all A minuses and the women were all A's. The playability is terrific. I think it's going to have big time legs. Do I know there's a huge picture (Universal's Red Dragon) coming in next week? Yes. But I think we're demographically sufficiently different and crowd pleasing, so I think we'll be there for a long time."
DreamWorks' PG-13 action comedy The Tuxedo opened in second place to a well dressed ESTIMATED $15.1 million at 3,022 theaters ($4,997 per theater).
Directed by Kevin Donovan, it stars Jackie Chan and Jennifer Love Hewitt.
"It's a good opening," DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said Sunday morning. "Going in, we were looking at (Jackie Chan's) Shanghai Noon as a comparison. This compares very favorably to their opening, which was on a holiday weekend ($19.65 million for the four day Memorial Day weekend of May 26-29, 2000)."
Asked if DreamWorks was pleased, Tharp observed, "We had to be pleased since the The Tuxedo gross was very close to the opening of Shanghai Noon, which opened on a holiday weekend."
Those on hand, Tharp noted, were "55 percent male. 44 percent of the audience was families, which is very high. 54 percent were under 25. It should continue to be the family movie of choice for the next few weeks."
MGM's PG-13 rated urban appeal comedy Barbershop fell two pegs to third place in its third week, still holding well with an ESTIMATED $10.1 million (-21%) at 2,051 theaters (+157 theaters; $4,924 per theater). Its cume is approximately $51.4 million, heading for $65 million or more in domestic theaters.
Directed by Tim Story, it stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve and Cedric The Entertainer.
IFC Films' release of Gold Circle Films and HBO's PG rated romantic comedy blockbuster My Big Fat Greek Wedding slid one slot to fourth place in its 24th week, still showing great legs with an ESTIMATED $9.77 million (even) at 1,841 theaters (-12 theaters; $5,307 per theater). Its cume is approximately $137.0 million, heading for $160 million in domestic theaters.
When Wedding passes $140.5 million later this week it will break the record set by Artisan Entertainment's The Blair Witch Project and become the domestic box office's biggest grossing independent film ever.
Directed by Joel Zwick, it stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated low budget comedy The Banger Sisters slid three rungs to fifth place in its second week with a less lively ESTIMATED $5.43 million (-46%) at 2,738 theaters (theater count unchanged; $1,981 per theater). Its cume is approximately $18.8 million.
Written and directed by Bob Dolman, it stars Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush.
Paramount and Miramax's PG-13 rated very expensive romantic epic The Four Feathers added theaters in its second week and fell one notch to sixth place with a depressing ESTIMATED $3.63 million (-47%) at 2,187 theaters ($1,658 per theater). Its cume is approximately $12.5 million.
Directed by Shekhar Kapur, it stars Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated low budget thriller One Hour Photo dropped one slot to seventh place in its sixth week with a quiet ESTIMATED $3.0 million (-35%) at 1,303 theaters (-29 theaters; $2,302 per theater). Its cume is approximately $26.1 million.
Written and directed by Mark Romanek, it stars Robin Williams.
Franchise Films' R rated action thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever from Warner Bros. plunged four posts to eighth place with a dull ESTIMATED $2.68 million (-62%) at 2,705 theaters (theater count unchanged; $989 per theater). Its cume is approximately $11.5 million.
Directed by "Kaos" and produced by Elie Samaha, Chris Lee and "Kaos," it stars Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 rated supernatural thriller blockbuster Signs dropped two pegs to ninth place in its ninth week with an okay ESTIMATED $2.3 million (-33%) at 1,783 theaters (-555 theaters; $1,307 per theater). Its cume is approximately $221.1 million, heading for $230 million.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it stars Mel Gibson.
There was a three way tie for tenth place in Sunday's estimates.
Revolution Studios and Columbia's low budget PG-13 teen comedy Stealing Harvard, which was ninth last weekend, in its fourth week did a quiet ESTIMATED $1.5 million (-55%) at 2,323 theaters (-43 theaters; $646 per theater). Its cume is approximately $12.7 million.
Directed by Bruce McCulloch, it stars Tom Green and Jason Lee.
20th Century Fox's PG-13 thriller Swimfan, which was eighth last week, in its fourth week did a soft ESTIMATED $1.5 million (-56%) at 1,838 theaters (-734 theaters; $816 per theater). Its cume is approximately $26.6 million.
Directed by John Polson, it stars Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen and Shiri Appleby.
Senator Entertainment and Columbia's R rated child kidnapping thriller Trapped, which was tenth last week, did in its second week a slim ESTIMATED $1.5 million (-53%) at 2,227 theaters (theater count unchanged; $674 per theater). Its cume is approximately $5.7 million.
Directed by Luis Mandoki, it stars Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend and Kevin Bacon.
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Buena Vista/ Touchstone's PG-13 rated drama Moonlight Mile in limited release to an encouraging ESTIMATED $0.35 million at 22 theaters ($15,779 per theater).
Written and directed by Brad Silberling, it stars Jake Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Susan Sarandon and Holly Hunter.
"It's an emotional film, very smart and very adult," Buena Vista Distribution's Chuck Viane said Sunday. "Brad Silberling did an absolutely terrific job. When you have people like Dustin and Susan and Jake and Holly and Ellen (Pompeo) in a movie (it makes a difference).
"Brad was at the Archlight (multiplex in Hollywood) yesterday. He was actually doing a personal one-on-one after the movie with the audience. They are really pleased about it. So we're expanding this (coming) weekend. We're going to pick up an additional 400 runs in every major city in America. We're going to be in the top 60 markets in the country. We'll be somewhere between 420 and 450 runs. The picture's playing great. The Archlight started Friday at $9,800 and went to $17,700 last night -- and nobody knew Brad was going to be there. I think this is a really good start. I'm really looking forward to the expansion on this one."
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend United Artists' R rated dark comedy Igby Goes Down widened in its third week with an upbeat ESTIMATED $0.69 million (-10%) at 121 theaters (+19 theaters; $5,672 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.1 million.
Written and directed by Burr Steers, it stars Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman and Susan Sarandon.
"We're going to go into 21 more markets on Friday," an MGM spokesman said Sunday morning. "That should bring us to like 140 theaters."
Lions Gate Films' R rated kinky romance Secretary expanded in its second week with a sexy ESTIMATED $0.38 million at 53 theaters (+42 theaters; $7,075 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.65 million.
Directed by Steven Shainberg, it stars James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
"It's probably heading to somewhere between $4-5 million on the art house circuit," Lions Gate president Tom Ortenberg said Sunday morning.
"We'll see what happens on the next couple of spreads. We're adding more runs on Oct. 4 and 11 and will probably reach our widest point on Oct. 18. Then we'll see how far outside the big cities we can go."
Buena Vista/ Disney's PG rated animated feature Spirited Away went wider in its second week, still in high spirits with an ESTIMATED $0.52 million at 53 theaters (+27 theaters; $9,827 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.1 million.
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, it was the Golden Bear best picture winner at the Berlin International Film Festival. Spirited Away is the all-time top grossing film at the Japanese box office.
Focus Features' R rated French comedic whodunit 8 Women expanded in its second week with a still attractive ESTIMATED $0.3 million at 57 theaters (+40 theaters; $5,630 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.8 million.
Directed by Francois Ozon, it stars Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Ludivine Sagnier and Firmine Richard.
Paramount Classics' PG rated German romantic comedy Mostly Martha went wider in its seventh week with a weak ESTIMATED $0.3 million at 143 theaters (+12 theaters; $2,225 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.6 million.
Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, it stars Martina Gedeck.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $99.01 million for the weekend, up about 43.12 percent from last year when they totaled $69.18 million.
Key films were up about 33.6 percent from the previous weekend this year when they totaled $74.11 million.
Last year, Fox's opening week of Don't Say A Word was first with $17.09 million at 2,802 theaters ($6,099 per theater); and Paramount's opening week of Zoolander was second with $15.53 million at 2,507 theaters ($6,193 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $32.6 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $52.6 million.

None of this weekend's four wide openings cut short Barbershop's first place reign, leaving it atop the chart with $13.3 million.
The Banger Sisters opened with a bang in second place with $10.3 million.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a fat third with $10 million and a $124 million cume heading for $150 million.
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever >and The Four Feathers opened in a fourth place tie with a featherweight $7.1 million each.
Trapped, the weekend's other wide opening, placed tenth with a subdued $3.2 million.
Even with no huge openings, key films soared 41.5 percent over last year -- $75 million versus $53 million. The comparison is misleading, however, since ticket sales a year earlier were depressed in the wake of 9/11.
THE TOP TEN
MGM's PG-13 rated urban appeal comedy Barbershop held on to the top spot in its second week with a solid ESTIMATED $13.3 million (-36%) at 1,894 theaters (+289 theaters; $7,022 per theater). Its cume is approximately $38.9 million.
Directed by Tim Story, it stars Ice Cube, Anthony Anderson, Sean Patrick Thomas, Eve and Cedric The Entertainer.
Barbershop's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Focusing on the low budget Barbershop's good hold, a competing studio marketing president said the picture is clearly attracting mainstream moviegoers as well as its urban core audience. "What that says to me," he observed, "is that it's crossing over to young males -- not African-Americans, but just young males. You can't hold like that without that."
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated low budget comedy The Banger Sisters opened in second place to a sexy ESTIMATED $10.3 million at 2,736 theaters ($3,763 per theater).
Written and directed by Bob Dolman, it stars Goldie Hawn, Susan Sarandon and Geoffrey Rush.
"We're very, very pleased," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning.
"Essentially, we more than grossed our production budget on opening weekend. For a film that's had a pretty narrow but very targeted audience to end up number two for the weekend, we're just thrilled."
Banger's launch, Gilula added, "is also a record for Searchlight. It's the biggest opening in Searchlight history. (The previous biggest) was a week ago with the $8 million for One Hour Photo. So two weeks in a row we set and broke our own records."
Asked if Searchlight will go any wider with Banger, Gilula replied, "I think we're as wide as we need to be. In fact, that's wider than we had intended. But the demand for the film was so high after we screened it for exhibitors that we went up to 2,700 (plus theaters).
"Originally, we thought we'd be in 2,300 to 2,500. But partly because (there are so) few films in the marketplace toward the end of the summer we had a lot of demand, so we went up that high. So we won't be adding theaters."
IFC Films' release of Gold Circle Films and HBO's PG rated romantic comedy blockbuster My Big Fat Greek Wedding was a close third, down one peg in its 23rd week with a still enviable ESTIMATED $10.01 million (-7%) at 1,853 theaters (+89 theaters; $4,501 per theater). Its cume is approximately $124.3 million, heading for $160 million in domestic theaters.
Wedding should break the $140.5 million record set by Artisan Entertainment's The Blair Witch Project as the domestic box office's biggest grossing independent film ever.
Directed by Joel Zwick, it stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett.
Franchise Films' R rated action thriller Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever arrived via Warner Bros. in a fourth place tie with a soft ESTIMATED $7.11 million at 2,705 theaters ($2,628 per theater).
Ballistic, whose roots are in a popular video game, reportedly had a production budget of about $70 million.
Directed by Kaos and produced by Elie Samaha, Chris Lee and Kaos, it stars Antonio Banderas and Lucy Liu.
Paramount and Miramax's PG-13 rated very expensive romantic epic The Four Feathers opened in a tie for fourth place with an uneventful ESTIMATED $7.1 million at 1,912 theaters ($3,713 per theater).
Directed by Shekhar Kapur, it stars Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley and Kate Hudson.
"It's disappointing, but I just got the exit polls and it played pretty well," Paramount distribution president Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "The top two boxes are 74 percent excellent and very good and 22 percent are good. So it's all positive. There is virtually no fair or poor."
The exits indicate, Lewellen added, the audience opening weekend was "roughly 50-50 male-female. The audience was a little over 70 percent over-25, so it's definitely an older audience. Women scored it higher than men in their definite recommends. Any time you've got a film that appeals to an older audience, it's tough to get them out there quickly."
Paramount will add about 300 more theaters in smaller markets to Feathers' run this week as a second wave that it hopes will benefit from favorable word of mouth spreading.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated low budget thriller One Hour Photo slid three clicks to sixth place in its fifth week, still in the picture with an okay ESTIMATED $4.73 million (-41%) at 1,332 theaters (+120 theaters; $3,547 per theater). Its cume is approximately $21.8 million.
Written and directed by Mark Romanek, it stars Robin Williams.
"One Hour Photo had a fabulous fifth week," Fox Searchlight's Stephen Gilula said. "This is just terrific. With four new movies coming into the marketplace in our fifth week, it's an excellent hold. In particular, for the screen average to be holding this high in the fifth week is terrific. We think we're going to get to $30 million or better for this film, which is tremendous. This (had a budget) of around $12 million, so this is a tremendous success for us.
"If it gets to $30 million, it (will become) the second biggest film in the U.S. for Searchlight since The Full Monty, so we're thrilled with that. Full Monty did $45 million."
Gilula also pointed out that Searchlight has The Good Girl in the marketplace, which has a cume of $12.8 million in its seventh week. "What's interesting is that on the three films (Banger, Photo and Girl) we had a total of 4,600 theaters across the country playing our movies this weekend, which is also a Searchlight record."
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 rated supernatural thriller blockbuster Signs, which was sixth last weekend, tied for seventh place in its eighth week with a calm ESTIMATED $3.5 million (-34%) at 2,338 theaters (-713 theaters; $1,497 per theater). Its cume is approximately $218.0 million, heading for $225 million.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it stars Mel Gibson.
Revolution Studios and Columbia's low budget PG-13 teen comedy Stealing Harvard, which was fifth last week, tied for seventh place in its second week with a slow ESTIMATED $3.5 million (-42%) at 2,366 theaters (theater count unchanged; $1,479 per theater). Its cume is approximately $10.8 million.
Directed by Bruce McCulloch, it stars Tom Green and Jason Lee.
20th Century Fox's PG-13 thriller Swimfan, which was fourth last week, was a very close ninth in its third week with an ESTIMATED $3.45 million (-43%) at 2,573 theaters (-287 theaters; $1,341 per theater). Its cume is approximately $24.4 million.
Directed by John Polson, it stars Jesse Bradford, Erika Christensen and Shiri Appleby.
Rounding out the Top Ten was the opening of Senator Entertainment's R rated child kidnapping thriller Trapped via Columbia with a not so thrilling ESTIMATED $3.2 million at 2,227 theaters ($1,437 per theater).
Directed by Luis Mandoki, it stars Charlize Theron, Courtney Love, Stuart Townsend and Kevin Bacon.
"This was a domestic pick up. It was a film financed by Senator and we acquired domestic (rights) for a little less than $10 million," Sony Pictures Entertainment worldwide marketing &amp; distribution president Jeff Blake said Sunday morning.
"So while we're certainly disappointed in the results, it's certainly not a high exposure picture for us."
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Buena Vista/ Disney's PG rated animated feature Spirited Away to a high spirited ESTIMATED $0.45 million at 26 theaters ($17,313 per theater).
Directed by Hayao Miyazaki, it was the Golden Bear best picture winner at the Berlin International Film Festival. Spirited is the all-time top grossing film at the Japanese box office.
Lions Gate Films' R rated kinky romance Secretary opened to a slap happy ESTIMATED $0.19 million at 11 theaters ($17,273 per theater).
Directed by Steven Shainberg, it stars James Spader and Maggie Gyllenhaal.
"We open an additional 10 markets next week with more expansions on Oct. 4 and 11 coming up," Lions Gate president Tom Ortenberg said Sunday morning.
"I think it went great. We had sell-outs on both coasts. Our grosses were only held down by the number of seats. There seems to be great demand for it. The movie seems really well positioned. It got really well reviewed and people seem to be talking about it. So we're thrilled."
Focus Features' R rated French comedic whodunit 8 Women arrived to a glamorous ESTIMATED $87,000 at 7 theaters ($10,926 per theater).
Directed by Francois Ozon, it stars Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Emmanuelle Beart, Fanny Ardant, Virginie Ledoyen, Danielle Darrieux, Ludivine Sagnier and Firmine Richard.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend United Artists' R rated dark comedy Igby Goes Down widened in its second week with an upbeat ESTIMATED $0.84 million at 102 theaters (+92 theaters; $8,212 per theater). Its cume is approximately $1.3 million.
Written and directed by Burr Steers, it stars Kieran Culkin, Claire Danes, Jeff Goldblum, Jared Harris, Amanda Peet, Ryan Phillippe, Bill Pullman and Susan Sarandon.
Paramount Classics' PG rated German romantic comedy Mostly Martha went wider in its sixth week with a dull ESTIMATED $0.3 million (-12%) at 131 theaters (+30 theaters; $2,555 per theater). Its cume is approximately $2.2 million.
Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, it stars Martina Gedeck.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $75.05 million for the weekend, up about 41.54 percent from last year when in the wake of 9/11 they totaled a depressed $53.02 million.
Key films were down about 3.47 percent from the previous weekend this year when they totaled $77.74 million.
Last year, Paramount's second week of Hardball was first with $8.06 million at 2,210 theaters ($3,646 per theater); and Dimension's opening week of The Others was second with $5.08 million at 2,801 theaters ($1,815 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $13.2 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $23.6 million.

Hollywood's summer, which came in like a lion with Spider-Man in early May, went out like a lamb over Labor Day weekend with ticket sales down nearly 12 percent from last year.
Nonetheless, there were strong holiday weekend ticket sales for two of the summer's big successes -- Signs and My Big Fat Greek Wedding. Both pictures have performed very considerably better than insiders ever expected.
Signs, the summer's last mega-blockbuster to arrive, remained posted in first place with $15.8 million for four days. It is this summer's only film to place first for three weeks. Although no film did it consecutively, Signs was number one its opening weekend and then returned to the top spot in weekends four and five. With its cume now over $194 million and heading for $225 million,Signs ranks as Mel Gibson's biggest grossing film ever, eclipsing What Women Want with $182.5 million.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding, the summer's sleeper hit, added 290 engagements and soared to second place with $14.1 million. Made for only about $5 million, its cume is now $81.5 million and on its way to an enormously profitable $100 million.
XXX nailed down third place with $12.6 million. feardotcom logged on quietly in fourth place with $6.6 million. Austin Powers in Goldmember rounded out the top five with $6.5 million.
With no new openings to drive ticket sales, key films -- those grossing $500,000 or more -- fell 11.8 percent from last year with $100.1 million for four days versus $113.5 million last Labor Day weekend. This was the seventh consecutive weekend in which the marketplace was down compared to last year.
Hollywood was happy to see that Sunday's weather map showed rain up and down the East Coast as well as along the Gulf Coast and in parts of the mid-west. That could give Sunday ticket sales across the board a boost and help raise today's estimates a notch when they are fine tuned Monday.
THE TOP TEN
Today's grosses are for the four day holiday period from Friday through Monday and reflect industry estimates circulating Sunday morning. Studios will announce their four day estimates Monday and will release final figures Tuesday. Percentage comparisons are not indicated today because the prior weekend was a regular three day weekend.
Buena Vista/Touchstone's PG-13 rated supernatural thriller blockbuster Signs held solidly atop the chart in its fifth week with an ESTIMATED $15.8 million at 3,437 theaters (-16 theaters; $4,597 per theater). Its cume is approximately $194.2 million, heading for $225 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $12.9 million.)
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it stars Mel Gibson and Joaquin Phoenix.
"By the way, the last movie to be number one in its fifth week was The Sixth Sense," a spokesperson for BV pointed out Sunday morning. Sixth Sense, of course, was also directed by Shyamalan.
"It's remarkable to think we finally have a picture this summer that was number one for three weeks," Buena Vista Distribution president Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "Everything else seems to have had two weeks and then got bumped off. We only had one week (in first place) and then we came back and picked up two more. The legs of this picture really speak volumes for how much the public likes the movie.
"Yesterday (Saturday), the picture became Mel Gibson's highest grossing film ever. And we still have probably $30 million worth of gross left. What Women Want did (about) $182 million. That as Mel's biggest picture."
Focusing on Signs' success, Viane observed, "It's the movie. The movie is playing great and the audience is responding that way. There's not many pictures that come into a Labor Day weekend and actually go up in gross over the previous weekend and this is one of them."
IFC Films' release of Gold Circle Films and HBO's PG rated romantic comedy sleeper hit My Big Fat Greek Wedding continued to expand in its 20th week, rising two pegs to second place with an amazingly hot ESTIMATED $14.13 million at 1,619 theaters (+290 theaters; $8,727 per theater). Its cume is approximately $81.9 million, heading for $100 million or more in domestic theaters. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $11.1 million.)
Wedding's average per theater was the highest for any film playing in wide release this weekend.
Directed by Joel Zwick, it stars Nia Vardalos and John Corbett.
Revolution Studios and Columbia's PG-13 rated action adventure thriller XXX slipped one notch to third place in its fourth week with a still muscular ESTIMATED $12.6 million at 3,536 theaters (+19 theaters; $3,550 per theater). Its cume is approximately $123.3 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $10.2 million.)
Directed by Rob Cohen and produced by Neal H. Moritz, it stars Vin Diesel, Asia Argento and Marton Csokas.
MDP Worldwide's R rated horror film feardotcom opened in fourth place to a weak ESTIMATED $6.6 million at 2,550 theaters ($2,588 per theater). (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $5.6 million.)
Directed by William Malone, it stars Stephen Dorff, Natascha McElhone and Stephen Rea. It was produced by Moshe Diamant and Limor Diamant and executive produced by Elie Samaha, Andrew Stevens, David Saunders, Mark Damon, Rudy Cohen, Frank Hubner and Romain Schroeder.
feardotcom is being distributed by Warner Bros. through its overall rent-a-system deal with Samaha's Franchise Films.
New Line's PG-13 rated comedy sequel Austin Powers in Goldmember rose two rungs to fifth place in its sixth week with a less amusing ESTIMATED $6.5 million at 2,506 theaters (-299 theaters; $2,594 per theater). Its cume is approximately $202.9 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $5.2 million.)
Directed by Jay Roach, it stars Mike Myers, Beyonce Knowles and Michael Caine.
Miramax/Dimension Films' PG rated family comedy sequel Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams slipped three pegs to sixth place in its fourth week with a slow ESTIMATED $6.3 million at 3,250 theaters (-57 theaters; $1,938 per theater). Its cume is approximately $68.1 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $5.3 million.)
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, it stars Antonio Banderas and Carla Gugino.
Universal and Imagine Entertainment's PG-13 rated romantic surfer girl comedy Blue Crush fell two waves to seventh place in its third week with a less sexy ESTIMATED $5.23 million at 2,820 theaters (-195 theaters; $1,855 per theater). Its cume is approximately $34.4 million.
Directed by John Stockwell and produced by Brian Grazer and Karen Kehela, it stars Kate Bosworth, Michelle Rodriguez, Matthew Davis, Sanoe Lake and Mika Boorem.
Paramount and Mandalay's PG-13 rated comedy Serving Sara dropped two posts to eighth place in its second week with an unfunny ESTIMATED $4.4 million at 2,174 theaters ($2,045 per theater). Its cume is approximately $12.0 million.
Directed by Reginald Hudlin, it stars Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated comedy The Good Girl went wider in its fourth week and placed ninth with a still impressive ESTIMATED $3.5 million at 667 theaters (+479 theaters; $5,247 per theater). Its cume is approximately $7.1 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $2.7 million.)
Directed by Miguel Arteta, it stars Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal and John C. Reilly.
"It's a terrific expansion," Fox Searchlight distribution president Stephen Gilula said Sunday morning. "The film is playing very well across the country in large and small cities, suburban and urban areas. I think people are intrigued by the nature of the story. It has hilarious moments and it also has some dark moments and some very touching family and very personal moments.
"It's a very distinctive film that people have interest in. The ensemble performances of Jennifer Aniston, Jake Gyllenhaal and the rest of the cast really have generated a lot of word of mouth."
Based on Sunday morning estimates there was a close race for tenth place. DreamWorks and 20th Century Fox's R rated adult appeal drama Road To Perdition, which was 11th last week, tied for tenth place in its eighth week with an okay ESTIMATED $3.1 million at 1,763 theaters (-100 theaters; $1,758 per theater). Its cume is approximately $98.1 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $2.4 million.)
Directed by Sam Mendes, it stars Tom Hanks, Paul Newman and Jude Law.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R rated thriller One Hour Photo, which began expanding in its second week, tied for tenth place with a very encouraging ESTIMATED $3.1 million at 163 theaters ($19,018 per theater). Its cume is approximately $3.6 million. (Its three day gross was an ESTIMATED $2.5 million.)
Written and directed by Mark Romanek, it stars Robin Williams.
"This is another very distinctive film, a very singular vision of the writer-director Mark Romanek," Fox Searchlight's Stephen Gilula said. "He got a terrific performance out of Robin Williams. It has clearly captivated the public and was done largely with word of mouth. We haven't done much in advertising. But I think that (its success reflects) Robin Williams' performance, which has been talked about a lot, combined with a very, very compelling concept -- that the man that develops your photos could be watching you and looking at your life. Everyone understands that concept. It's a very mesmerizing performance and a very chilling, creepy movie.
"Both The Good Girl and One Hour Photo really stand out at the end of summer. The big movies have all played and if you want to go out and see something that's more stimulating and thought provoking, (these are perfect choices). We're very, very pleased and very fortunate how well these films (have been embraced by moviegoers)."
TOP SUMMER GROSSING FILMS
This summer's top grossing films -- releases that have either grossed $100 million-plus or are clearly on the track to do so shortly -- are ranked below according to their approximate cumes through Labor Day weekend:
(1) Spider-Man - Columbia Pictures - $403.7 million
(2) Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones - 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm - $300.6 million
(3) Austin Powers in Goldmember - New Line Cinema - $202.9 million
(4) Signs -- Buena Vista/Touchstone - $194.2 million
(5) Men In Black II - Columbia Pictures - $190.2 million
(6) Scooby-Doo - Warner Bros. - $151.9 million
(7) Lilo &amp; Stitch - Buena Vista/Disney - $141.6 million
(8) Minority Report - 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures - $130.6 million
(9) Mr. Deeds - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $124.2 million
(10) XXX - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $123.3 million
(11) The Sum Of All Fears - Paramount Pictures - $118.3 million
(12) The Bourne Identity - Universal Pictures - $118.0 million
(13) Road To Perdition - DreamWorks Pictures and 20th Century Fox - $98.1 million
(14) My Big Fat Greek Wedding - IFC Films - $81.9 million
This summer produced a dozen films that cracked $100 million and two others that are about to do so. Last summer 10 films hit $100 million and three films wound up grossing in the low $90 millions. Last summer's top grossing film, DreamWorks' animated feature Shrek, grossed $262.9 million.
Notably lacking from the list of summer successes starring superstars is Paramount and InterMedia Films' costly budget action adventure K-19: The Widowmaker, starring Harrison Ford, one of the summer's biggest disappointments. After opening to negative reviews, the Russian nuclear submarine drama sank immediately at the box office. Its cume is approximately $34.4 million.
Also not making the superstar success list is Warner Bros.' The Adventures of Pluto Nash, starring Eddie Murphy. It, too, was slaughtered by the critics and opened poorly. Its cume is approximately $4 million.
TOP TEN SUMMER OPENINGS
This summer's Top Ten films ranked by their opening weekend grosses were:
(1) Spider-Man - Columbia Pictures - $114.8 million
(2) Star Wars: Episode II -- Attack of the Clones - 20th Century Fox and Lucasfilm - $80.0 million
(3) Austin Powers in Goldmember - New Line Cinema - $73.1 million
(4) Signs -- Buena Vista/Touchstone - $60.1 million
(5) Scooby-Doo - Warner Bros. - $54.2 million
(6) Men In Black II - Columbia Pictures - $52.1 million
(7) XXX - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $44.5 million
(8) Mr. Deeds - Revolution Studios and Columbia Pictures - $37.2 million
(9) Minority Report - 20th Century Fox and DreamWorks Pictures - $35.7 million
(10) Lilo &amp; Stitch - Buena Vista/Disney - $35.3 million
OTHER OPENINGS
This weekend also saw the arrival of Sony Pictures Classics' R rated Spanish drama Mad Love to an okay ESTIMATED $29,000 at 3 theaters ($9,798 per theater).
Directed by Vicente Aranda, it stars Pilar Lopez de Ayala.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
There were no national sneak previews this weekend.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front this weekend Focus Features' romantic drama Possession went wider in its third week to a promising ESTIMATED $2.4 million at 612 theaters (+269 theaters; $3,985 per theater). Its cume is approximately $6.4 million.
Directed by Neil LaBute, it stars Gwyneth Paltrow and Aaron Eckhart.
Buena Vista/Disney's PG rated animated family appeal feature Lilo &amp; Stitch widened again over Labor Day weekend in its 11th week to mop up an ESTIMATED $1.2 million at 1,653 theaters (+1,175 theaters; $765 per theater). Its cume is approximately $141.6 million.
Written and directed by Chris Sanders, it was produced by Clark Spencer.
Paramount Classics' PG rated German romantic comedy Mostly Martha went wider in its third week with an okay ESTIMATED $0.5 million at 66 theaters (+39 theaters; $7,245 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.8 million.
Written and directed by Sandra Nettelbeck, it stars Martina Gedeck.
United Artists' R rated comedy 24 Hour Party People, released through MGM, continued to widen and hold well in its fourth week with an ESTIMATED $0.18 million at 32 theaters (+9 theaters; $5,595 per theater). Its cume is approximately $0.6 million.
Directed by Michael Winterbottom, it stars Steve Coogan.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 -- took in approximately $100.05 million for the four day weekend, down 11.82 percent from last year when they totaled $113.46 million for four days.
Key films cannot be compared to the previous weekend of this year, which was a regular three day weekend.
Last year, MGM's opening week of Jeepers Creepers was first with $15.83 million at 2.944 theaters ($5,378 per theater); and New Line's fourth week of Rush Hour 2 was second with $11.71 million at 2,825 theaters ($4,146 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $27.5 million. This year, the top two films grossed an ESTIMATED $29.9 million.

Proving that sometimes PR mavens really do earn their fees, new producer on the block Elie (pronounced Eelee) Samaha, who moved in the mid-90s from careers in club-bouncing, dry-cleaning, and club-owning to film-making, has been getting loads and loads of ink recently.
Yes, the Elie avalanche has been a good job by flacks, but the media has also been responding to his good luck at having produced the surprise Bruce Willis/Matthew Perry hit "The Whole Nine Yards" and finally getting that cumbersome John Travolta vehicle, "Battlefield Earth," off the launching pad.
Within the past two weeks, Elie stories have run in publications like the Los Angeles Times and The New York Times. Suggesting that Elie doesn't have a heck of a lot to say, some of the same quotes were duplicated in both stories. And, appropriately, both laid out the producer's modus operandi: find properties that are star pet projects that can't get made but have kicked around the studios forever, get the star involved cheaply, sucker financiers from overseas with the lure of the star attachments, take the production to Canada, and roll cameras.
While readers have gotten an industrial-strength dose of Elie pictures and text, fans who want to fill out the portrait more fully should be alerted to the fact that Elie's bullying and sometimes downright crude voice pops up a number of times in Myles Berkowitz's funny 1997 documentary "20 Dates," which Fox Searchlight released to moderate success and is now available at video stores.
Elie produced and financed the film debut, which tracks the L.A.-based Berkowitz's dogged efforts to find a significant other. Demanding more sizzle and saleable elements from his filmmaker, Elie is heard on screen in numerous phone conversations badgering Berkowitz to deliver more sex, nudity, whatever. Elie also forces Berkowitz to use his former then-partner Tia Carrere in a bit role. Elie's indelicate voice and crude speaking manner mesh perfectly with his many recent profiles.
In fact, Samaha should probably do a Bob Evans and commit his producing manifesto and life story to audiotape so that young Hollywood execs and wannabes can hear - in his own highly-expressive voice and words - the latest Biz gospel while speeding to meetings and business meals. Robert Evans, of course, was a big hit with the car-driving male Hollywood set with his "The Kid Stays in the Picture" on audiocassette.
And with the "Battlefield Earth" grosses due to crash to earth in less than two weeks, Samaha may welcome a detour into this the world of audio and the surefire revenues tapes can deliver. Evans hasn't had a bigger hit since.
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THAT LITTLE FRENCH THING: The next few weeks will be bringing filmgoers such much-anticipated big pix as "Small Time Crooks," Woody Allen's first film for DreamWorks; Disney's "Dinosaurs," expected to deliver jaw-dropping visuals and grosses to match; DreamWorks' gross-out "Road Trip," which makes "American Pie" seem as tame as, well, American pie; and "Mission: Impossible 2," Tom Cruise's summer juggernaut that could have a certain "Gladiator" grinding his teeth in fear.
But amidst this formidable all-star lineup, Phaedra Cinema is expected to venture where few other distribs dare to venture by releasing "Portraits Chinois" on May 19.
This little French thing, written and directed by Martine Dugowson, will get clobbered by the Big Boys but doesn't deserve such harsh treatment. Were this twenty years ago, the film - which follows the loves, lives, disappointments, and triumphs of a group of Parisian yuppies in the worlds of film and fashion - would have stood a chance.
The film boasts terrific performances from Helena Bohnam Carter, Romane Bohringer, Marie Trintignant, Yvan Attal, Elsa Zylberstein, and Jean-Philippe Ecoffey. There's even a surprise turn from vet French actor Jean-Claude Brialy, who plays a top Parisian fashion designer and is familiar to cinephiles who adore early Claude Chabrol.
This little French film will disappear fast, like so many other deserving little French films that manage to get washed up on our ungrateful shores. At least "Portraits Chinois" got to make the journey. If only filmgoers, bombarded these days by "dinosaurs" and "missions" and "crooks" and the like, could meet it halfway.

Warner Bros. "The Whole Nine Yards" easily held on to first place despite tracking studies that had projected Dimension Films' opening of "Reindeer Games" would be the weekend's big winner.
"Reindeer Games " Although the tracking data had pointed to an opening of $10 million to $12 million for "Reindeer," no film managed to crack double digits last weekend. "Reindeer" wound up an embarrassed No. 3 for the weekend with a red face and nose. The weekend's only other wide opening, Paramount's "Wonder Boys," lived up to tracking expectations, finishing out of the Top Five, in seventh place, with a grim estimated $5.85 million.
The best-performing film of the bunch continued to be "Yards," Morgan Creek and Franchise Pictures' R-rated comedy. "Yards" continued laughing atop the chart in its second weekend with an estimated $9.61 million (-30%) at 2,910 theaters (theater count unchanged, $3,301 per theater). Its total is approximately $28.5 million.
(All of today's estimates are for the three-day weekend. Percentage comparisons are against the Friday through Sunday portion of the previous four-day Presidents Day weekend.)
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, "Yards" stars Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry.
"Well, there's no contest this weekend," Warner Bros. Distribution President Dan Fellman said Sunday morning. "It's probably one of the best-holding films of all time after Presidents Weekend. I've been tracking these dates, and usually they drop 37-43%. But we have a movie on which the word of mouth is just terrific."
"The Whole Nine Yards" Fellman applauds director Lynn and Franchise Pictures' head Elie Samaha, who executive produced the film with Andrew Stevens, for delivering a movie that audiences are clearly enjoying.
"The screenings we had -- from our sneak previews all the way through opening weekend -- continued to get stronger (in terms of exit poll scores)," Fellman said. "We seem to be getting younger (moviegoers), so the movie's moving into a broader audience, which is wonderful."
Where is it heading? "You're talking north of $50 million," said Fellman. "Each week now depends on how well we hold. After this week is over, we'll end up with $31-32 million. If we take a 35% drop next week, that will still give us another $8 million and bring us to $40 million. Whether it's $50 million or $60 million (remains to be seen), but it's north of $50 million."
Focusing on Franchise Pictures, Fellman said, "Coming out with your first movie at No. 1, and the second week having it No. 1 again, (is a fabulous way to start out)."
Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' PG-rated comedy "Snow Day" rose one peg to second place in its third weekend with a still-hot estimated $8.50 million (-26%) at 2,709 theaters (+7 theaters, $3,138 per theater). Its total is approximately $43.3 million.
Directed by Chris Koch, it stars Chevy Chase.
"I think it will make $60 million-plus," Paramount Distribution President Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "I did a high-low projection earlier in the week, and we had it at $50 million on the low side and $63 million on the high side. Certainly, this is a better hold than we expected. I think it'll be in the low $60 millions."
Why is it performing so well?
"You can't really say, 'There's nothing else out there for the kids,' because there is 'The Tigger Movie,'" said Lewellen. "But I think that's so much younger (in its appeal). Certainly, ('Snow') is satisfying the (family) audience it's intended for.
"I think Chevy Chase brought more to the table here than they realized. Parents are going because they think there may be something there for them, too (with Chase starring). He's funny and he's been funny in the past, so they think, 'Well, I'll go to that one (with my kids because I'll probably enjoy it myself).'"
"Snow's" production cost reportedly was only about $15 million, which should make it nicely profitable.
Dimension Films' launch of its R-rated thriller "Reindeer Games" finished third, looking far less lively than industry tracking studies had suggested it would. Hollywood insiders had said "Reindeer" was the only film likely to do double-digit business this weekend.
"Reindeer" wound up with a calm estimated $8 million at 2,204 theaters ($3,629 per theater).
Directed by John Frankenheimer, it stars Ben Affleck, Gary Sinise, and Charlize Theron.
"Kind of a downbeat weekend," was how one competing distribution executive summed things up Sunday morning. "Right now, 'The Whole Nine Yards' is overperforming the tracking, clearly, and there's no question 'Reindeer Games' underperformed."
Distributors make a point of saying about tracking, as one did in our projection report for the weekend, "If you're looking for science, there isn't any. That's why nobody can make (accurate) predictions." While tracking data is often reliable, there are times when moviegoers simply do something different from what they said they were going to do.
Columbia's PG-13-rated comedy "Hanging Up" saw moviegoers start to disconnect with it in its second weekend, sliding two rungs to fourth place with a less talkative estimated $7.50 million (-45%) at 2,618 theaters (theater count unchanged, $2,865 per theater). Its total is approximately $26.1 million.
Directed by Diane Keaton, it stars Meg Ryan, Keaton, Lisa Kudrow, and Walter Matthau.
"I think it'll pretty predictably make in the mid-$40s to $50 million range and end up making us a profit," said Sony Pictures Releasing President Jeff Blake Sunday morning.
USA Films' R-rated sci-fi thriller "Pitch Black" dropped one orbit to fifth place in its second weekend with an OK estimated $7.05 million (-39%) at 1,930 theaters (+98 theaters, $3,654 per theater). Its total is approximately $22.8 million.
Directed by David Twohy, it stars Vin Diesel, Radha Mitchell, Cole Hauser, and Keith David.
Disney's G-rated "The Tigger Movie" took a one-peg skid to sixth place in its third weekend, still holding well with an estimated $6.30 million (-21%) at 2,818 theaters (+63 theaters, $2,236 per theater). Its total is approximately $30.6 million.
The film is the animated adventures of the eponymous "Winnie the Pooh" character and his cast of animal friends.
Paramount's R-rated comedy drama "Wonder Boys" lived up to its mediocre tracking scores, opening in seventh place to a less than wonderful estimated $5.85 million at 1,253 theatres ($4,669 per theater).
However, its per-theater average was the highest for any film playing in wide release over the weekend.
Directed by Curtis Hanson, "Boys" stars Michael Douglas, Tobey Maguire, Frances McDormand, Katie Holmes, Rip Torn and Robert Downey Jr.
"A lot of critics have mentioned that his (Douglas') performance is very good and, in fact, I think it is," said Paramount's Lewellen on Sunday morning. "We opened (Wednesday) in New York, L.A. and Chicago. Obviously, with a film like this, you have to depend on good reviews. We got that, for the most part, with the exception of The New York Times. Virtually everywhere else in the country, (we got) good to rave reviews.
"This is one of those (films) that can hang around a while if word of mouth is good on the picture."
With that in mind, Lewellen said, Paramount is committed to going wider with "Wonder Boys" next weekend.
"We're bringing in another 250 runs next week in smaller markets," he said. "Hopefully, it will give an opportunity for the reviews and good word of mouth to get out there and into the smaller markets."
"Boys" five-day total is $5.9 million.
Dimension Films' R-rated thriller "Scream 3" continued slipping in its fourth weekend, down two pegs to eighth place with a less scary estimated $5 million at 3,099 theaters (-269 theaters, $1,613 per theater). Its total is approximately $78.1 million.
Directed by Wes Craven, "Scream 3" stars David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette, and Parker Posey.
DreamWorks' R-rated drama "American Beauty," a major Oscar contender with eight nominations, including Best Picture, held on to ninth place in its 24th week with a still promising estimated $4.73 million (-15%) at 1,323 theatres (+36 theaters, $3,578 per theater). Its total is approximately $87.7 million.
Directed by Sam Mendes, it stars Kevin Spacey and Annette Bening.
"It's down 15%, (which is) fantastic," DreamWorks distribution head Jim Tharp said Sunday morning.
What effect has the film's awards success had?
"Well, it's had to be extremely positive," said Tharp. "Probably, the Golden Globes awards as well as the (Oscar) nominations contributed to that (Academy run) opening last week, which was $5.6 million for the three days. I think right now the movie's playing like it did when it was first-run.
"It continues to hold very, very well. It's a combination of people that have never seen the movie and, then, people seeing it again."
Rounding out the Top 10 was Miramax's PG-13-rated drama "The Cider House Rules," also a top contender for Oscars with seven nominations, including Best Picture. "Cider" expanded in its 12th week, pulling in an OK estimated $4.10 million at 1,346 theaters (+489 theaters, $3,046 per theater). Its total is approximately $32 million.
Directed by Lasse Hallstrom, it stars Tobey Maguire, Charlize Theron, Delroy Lindo, Erykah Badu, Paul Rudd and Michael Caine.
OTHER OPENINGS
Last weekend saw the arrival of Fox Searchlight Pictures' PG-13-rated dramatic comedy "The Closer You Get," placing 30th with a quiet estimated $0.045 million at 10 theaters ($4,500 per theater).
Directed by Aileen Ritchie, it stars Ian Hart, Sean McGinley, Niamh Cusack and Ruth McCabe.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
Last weekend saw Columbia hold 800 sneak previews of its comedy "What Planet Are You From?".
Directed by Mike Nichols, it stars Garry Shandling, Annette Bening, Greg Kinnear, Ben Kingsley, Linda Fiorentino and John Goodman.
"They were generally well-attended, particularly in big cities," Sony Pictures' Blake said Sunday morning. "They were less well-attended in the smaller cities in the South and the Midwest. Overall, the reaction was very good. Clearly, it's a picture I think people are going to find out about and tell their friends. It opens Friday (March 3) in about 2,200 runs."
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, last weekend saw Buena Vista/Touchstone expand its R-rated drama "The Insider," a top contender for Oscars with seven nominations, including Best Picture, in its 17th week, placing 21st with a dull estimated $0.49 million at 651 theaters (+519 theaters, $753 per theater). Its total is approximately $27.5 million.
Directed by Michael Mann, it stars Russell Crowe, Al Pacino and Christopher Plummer.
USA Films' reissue of the PG-rated suspense drama "Rear Window" widened in its sixth week, placing 26th with an OK estimated $0.13 million at 22 theaters (+4 theaters, $5,955 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.9 million.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it stars James Stewart and Grace Kelly. Robert Harris and James Katz restored the 1954 film classic.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend - took in approximately $83.21 million, up about 13.50% from the comparable weekend last year when key films grossed $73.31 million.
This weekend's key film gross cannot be compared with this year's previous weekend, the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend.
Last year, Sony's opening week of "8MM" was first with $14.25 million at 2,370 theaters ($6,014 per theater) and Paramount's fourth week of "Payback" was second with $6.79 million at 2,852 theaters ($2,380 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $21.1 million. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $18.1 million.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films, last weekend's top six distributors were the following: Miramax (Miramax, Dimension) was first with three films ("Reindeer Games," "Scream 3" and "The Cider House Rules") grossing an estimated $17.10 million or 20.6% of the market.
Paramount was second with two films ("Snow Day" and "Wonder Boys") grossing an estimated $14.35 million or 17.2% of the market.
Warner Bros. was third with two films ("The Green Mile" and "The Whole Nine Yards") grossing an estimated $11.64 million or 14% of the market.
Buena Vista (Touchstone and Disney) was fourth with four films ("The Tigger Movie," "Toy Story 2," "The Sixth Sense" and "Fantasia 2000") grossing an estimated $10 million or 12% of the market.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia, TriStar) was fifth with two films ("Hanging Up" and "Stuart Little") grossing an estimated $8.55 million or 10.3% of the market.
USA Films was sixth with one film ("Pitch Black") grossing an estimated $7.05 million or 8.5% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11) "The Beach"/Fox Theaters: 2,517 (-70) Gross: $3.50 million (-51%) Average per theater: $1,391 Total: $33.9 million
(12) "Boiler Room"/New Line Theaters: 1,335 (0) Gross: $3.10 million (-46%) Average per theater: $2,322 Total: $11.1 million
(13) "The Green Mile"/Castle Rock/Warner Bros. Theaters: 1,746 (-356) Gross: $2.03 million (-29%) Average per theater: $1,167 Total: $131.2 million
(14) "The Sixth Sense"/BV/Touchstone Theaters: 992 (+98) Gross: $1.60 million (-19%) (tie) Average per theater: $1,568 Total: $284 million
(14) "Fantasia 2000"/BV/Disney Theaters: 54 (0) (all IMAX) Gross: $1.60 million (worldwide) (-32%) (tie) Average per theater: $29,153 Total: $34.5 million (worldwide)
(16) "The Hurricane"/Universal Theaters: 1,346 (-365) Gross: $1.31 million (-45%) Average per theater: $970 Total: $48.2 million
(17) "Next Friday"/New Line Theaters: 1,038 (-171) Gross: $1.13 million (-38%) Average per theater: $1,084 Total: $54.1 million
(18) "Stuart Little"/Columbia Theaters: 1,300 (-414) Gross: $1.05 million (-33%) Average per theater: $808 Total: $136.2 million
(19) "Galaxy Quest"/DreamWorks Theaters: 817 (-369) Gross: $0.75 million (-39%) Average per theater: $920 Total: $69.0 million
(20) "Toy Story 2"/BV/Disney Theaters: 581 (-183) Gross: $0.50 million (-48%) Average per theater: $863 Total: $240.6 million
(21) "The Insider"/BV/Touchstone (see EXPANSIONS above)
(22) "The Talented Mr. Ripley"/Paramount/Miramax Theaters: 626 (-519) Gross: $0.37 million (-56%) Average per theater: $694 Total: $80 million
(23) "Angela's Ashes"/Paramount Theaters: 584 (-30) Gross: $0.36 million (-42%) Average per theater: $616 Total: $11.9 million
(24) "Being John Malkovich"/USA Films Theaters: 134 (-31) Gross: $0.13 million (-34%) Average per theater: $995 Total: $22 million
(25) "Snow Falling on Cedars"/Universal Theaters: 299 (+11) Gross: $0.13 million (-17%) Average per theater: $440 Total: $14.1 million
(26) "Rear Window"/USA (see EXPANSIONS above)
(27) "End of Days"/Universal Theaters: 197 (-43) Gross: $0.10 million (-36%) Average per theater: $460 Total: $66.7 million (28) "The Bone Collector"/Universal: Theaters: 217
(-28) Gross: $0.10 million (-36%) Average per theater: $415 Total: $66.4 million
(29) "My Dog Skip"/Warner Bros. Theaters: 21 (-4) Gross: $0.056 million (-15%) Average per theater: $2,660 Total: $0.7 million
(30) "The Closer You Get"/Fox Searchlight: (see OTHER OPENINGS above)

Dimension Films' "Scream 3" made the weekend's biggest waves at the box office, holding on to first place despite 20th Century Fox's strong launch for Leonardo DiCaprio's "The Beach."
"Scream 3" took a hefty second weekend drop but still sliced off an estimated $16.40 million (-53%) at 3,467 theaters (theater count unchanged, $4,730 per theater). Its total is approximately $57.1 million.
In December 1997, "Scream 2's" second weekend gross of $13.9 million was down 58%. It went on to gross about $101.3 million in domestic theaters.
"It's actually a better drop than expected considering where we opened," Miramax Senior Vice President, Marketing, David Kaminow said Sunday morning. "Looking at 'Scream 2,' after 10 days, we were at $55 million. On 'Scream 3' after 10 days, we're at $57 million. So we're on a good track and feel good about that."
Directed by Wes Craven, "Scream 3" was produced by Cathy Konrad, Kevin Williamson and Marianne Maddalena. It reunites Craven with David Arquette, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox Arquette and Liev Schreiber. Also starring are Patrick Dempsey, Scott Foley, Matt Keeslar, Jenny McCarthy, Emily Mortimer, Parker Posey, Deon Richmond, Kelly Rutherford and Patrick Warburton.
Twentieth Century Fox's launch of its R-rated adventure drama "The Beach" washed ashore in second place with a high tide estimated $15 million at 2,546 theaters ($5,891 per theater).
Its per-theater average was the highest for any film in wide release last weekend.
Directed by Danny Boyle, "The Beach" stars DiCaprio and Virginie Ledoyen.
"It's good," Tom Sherak, 20th Domestic Film Group chairman and senior executive vice president of Fox Filmed Entertainment, said Sunday morning. "The audience was about 57% female and 43% male. Fifty-five percent of the audience was 18-25.
Everybody seems to be thrilled about it. No question, they came to see (DiCaprio) -- the biggest reason to go to the movie (according to exit polls). And young girls liked it the best.
"Everybody's happy (about it at Fox). Some people have asked me (about) it's not being No. 1. Well, when a movie does $34 million in its first week, (a film opening the next week) is not going to be No. 1. No. 1 is a wonderful thing, but it's not the wherewithal for a movie. There have been so many movies that haven't been No. 1 that have gone on to do a lot of business. Hopefully, this will be one of them."
Paramount and Nickelodeon Movies' PG-rated comedy "Snow Day" opened in third place to a blizzard of ticket sales with an estimated $14.80 million at 2,664 theaters ($5,556 per theater).
"Snow Day" is directed by Chris Koch and stars Chevy Chase.
"I think it's phenomenal," Paramount Distribution President Wayne Lewellen said Sunday morning. "It's way beyond where we thought it could get. I thought, maybe, $12 million would be our top simply because 'Tigger' was in the marketplace at the same time. And, really, nothing had ever done this kind (of business) -- you're talking $23-25 million between the two pictures."
There were differences between the two family films' audiences. "Snow," Lewellen said, was "a little bit older. Their picture, based on the research, really stopped at about 6 years old, and we could get to, like, 12- and 13-year-olds. Obviously, their being in the market affected us because they took some of the younger kids who were going to our film. But for the two pictures to do this level of business is just phenomenal."
Lewellen added that the marketplace expanded with two new family films opening: "I think, maybe, the two pictures had a synergy getting the people out. The younger people like to go see both movies.
Fourth place went to Disney's kickoff of its G-rated animated "The Tigger Movie" with a bouncy estimated $9.21 million at 2,723 theaters ($3,382 per theater). The film is the animated adventures of the familiar "Winnie the Pooh" character.
"I'm so happy," Buena Vista Distribution President Chuck Viane said Sunday morning. "Based on everything that we felt, this is really at the upper end of the opening weekend projection. Next Monday is a holiday, and what historically happens is that whatever you do in the three days of this weekend you come right back and do in the four days of next weekend. When the end of the year rolls around, this movie will probably rank up there with some of the most profitable. Everything was done the right way, and it is going to be extremely profitable.
"What a wonderful weekend for general audience movies. 'Snow Day' did wonderfully. We did wonderfully. And, yet, if you look inside the numbers, we don't compete with each other. We're younger and a tad more female. We're 56% female. I'm sure if you looked inside 'Snow Day's' numbers, they'd be a little heavier male than female. We're really complementary to the marketplace."
Rounding out the Top Five was Universal's R-rated Oscar contender "The Hurricane," down three slots in its seventh week but still holding well with an estimated $3.61 million (-27%) at 2,078 theaters (-70 theaters, $1,735 per theater). Its total is approximately $42.4 million.
Directed by Norman Jewison, it stars recent Golden Globe winner Denzel Washington as wrongly imprisoned boxing champion Rubin "Hurricane" Carter.
Warner Bros. and Castle Rock Entertainment's R-rated death row drama "The Green Mile" held on to sixth place in its 10th week with a still OK estimated $3.04 million (-24%) at 2,012 theaters (-323 theaters, $1,513 per theater). Its total is approximately $124.4 million, heading for $140 million in domestic theaters.
Written and directed by Frank Darabont, it stars Tom Hanks and Michael Clarke Duncan.
New Line's R-rated urban-appeal hit comedy sequel "Next Friday" dropped three slots to seventh place in its fifth week with a still respectable estimated $2.82 million (-34%) at 1,364 theaters (-56 theaters, $2,071 per theater). Its total is approximately $49.4 million.
Directed by Steve Carr, it was written by, stars and was produced by Ice Cube.
Columbia's PG-rated family comedy "Stuart Little" finished eighth, down five pegs in its ninth week in the face of competition from two new family-appeal films with a less exciting estimated $2.70 million (-43%) at 2,351 theaters (-351 theaters, $1,148 per theater). Its total is approximately $132 million, heading for $140 million or more in domestic theaters.
Directed by Rob Minkoff, it stars Geena Davis, Hugh Laurie and Jonathan Lipnicki.
"It's been having its own way for many weeks," Sony Pictures Releasing President Jeff Blake said Sunday morning. "There's no question, both (new family) pictures gave us a hit. But we think we'll hang on, certainly past the $140 million mark and, I think, we'll get to the mid-$140 millions. We're still in 2,351 runs and although we'll lose some, there's a lot of interest in continuing to play this picture, especially over the holiday weekend coming up."
Looking ahead to the Oscar nominations Tuesday morning, Blake said, "It will be interesting to see what impact the Academy Award nominations have. Certainly, only the No. 5 and 6 pictures this week out of the Top Ten are interested in that result plus the re-release of 'American Beauty.' It certainly seems like the top four plus (the two films opening next weekend) 'Hanging Up' and 'The Whole Nine Yards' are all going to be pretty hard to get by.
"It does not look like the rewards are going to be immediate (for films with Oscar nominations) because it does look like kids and, hopefully, the women for us on 'Hanging Up' will rule things (next weekend). As I say, I think it's not necessarily going to be the Academy weekend next weekend. It looks like a lot of very entertaining (new or very recent) pi tures will probably be on top."
Blake said that "Hanging Up" will open at about 2,500 theaters. Directed by Diane Keaton, the PG-13-rated comedy stars Meg Ryan, Diane Keaton, Lisa Kudrow and Walter Matthau.
DreamWorks' PG-rated sci-fi fantasy comedy "Galaxy Quest" was ninth, down two notches in its eighth week with a less exciting estimated $2.20 million (-34%) at 1,589 theaters (-350 theaters, $1,385 per theater). Its total is approximately $65.8 million, heading for about $70 million in domestic theaters.
Directed by Dean Parisot, it stars Tim Allen, Sigourney Weaver and Alan Rickman.
Rounding out the Top Ten was Destination Films' R-rated psychological thriller "Eye Of the Beholder," down five rungs in its third week with a quiet estimated $2.11 million (-49%) at 1,583 theaters (-168, $1,331 per theater). Its total is approximately $15.1 million.
Directed by Stephan Elliott, it stars Ewan McGregor and Ashley Judd. Destination reportedly picked up the independently made film for domestic release for about $4 million.
OTHER OPENINGS
Last weekend saw the arrival of no other noteworthy openings.
SNEAK PREVIEWS
Last weekend saw Warner Bros. hold national sneak previews Saturday night of Morgan Creek and Franchise Pictures' R-rated comedy "The Whole Nine Yards."
Directed by Jonathan Lynn, it stars Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry. It was written by Mitchell Kapner, produced by David Willis and Allan Kaufman and executive produced by Elie Samaha and Andrew Stevens.
"We had over 800 sneaks and polled more than half (of them)," Warner Bros. distribution executive Jeff Goldstein said Sunday morning. "Of the theaters we polled, the reaction (was) 98% between good and excellent. On the capacity side, 95% were between 75% and 100% capacity. Those two pieces of information tell the whole story -- we had really good sneaks."
"Yards" opens Friday at more than 2,800 theaters.
EXPANSIONS
On the expansion front, last weekend saw Buena Vista/Touchstone expand its R-rated Oscar contender thriller "The Sixth Sense" in its 28th week to be in the marketplace when Academy nominations are announced Tuesday morning. "Sense" placed 18th with a quiet estimated $1.04 million at 831 theaters (+611 theaters, $1,254 per theater). Its total is approximately $279.5 million.
Directed by M. Night Shyamalan, it stars Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment.
USA Films R-rated drama "Topsy-Turvy" went wider in its eighth week, placing 20th with a quiet estimated $0.72 million at 223 theaters (+93 theaters, $3,240 per theater). Its total is approximately $3.2 million.
Written and directed by Mike Leigh, it stars Jim Broadbent and Allan Corduner.
Fox Searchlight Pictures' R-rated drama "Titus" went a bit wider in its eighth week, placing 32nd with an OK estimated $0.11 million at 19 theaters (+2 theaters, $5,815 per theater). Its total is approximately $1 million.
Directed by Julie Taymor, it stars Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange and Allan Cumming.
USA Films' reissue of the PG-rated suspense/cop drama "Rear Window" widened slightly in its fourth week, placing 33rd with an OK estimated $0.10 million at 17 theaters (+2 theaters, $5,790 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.4 million.
Directed by Alfred Hitchcock, it stars Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly. Robert Harris and James Katz restored the 1954 film classic.
Fine Line Features' G-rated Oscar contender for Best Foreign Language Film, "The Cup," widened in its third week, placing 34th with an OK estimated $0.064 million at 12 theaters (+8 theaters, $5,330 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.2 million.
Directed by Khyentse Norbu, it is the story of attempts to hook up a satellite dish at a Tibetan monastery so its soccer fan monks can watch the 1998 World Cup matches.
Warner Bros. R-rated comedy "The Big Tease" expanded in its third week, placing 36th place with a quiet estimated $0.030 million at 10 theaters (+6 theaters, $2,855 per theater). Its total is approximately $0.1 million.
Directed by Kevin Allen, it stars Craig Ferguson and Frances Fisher.
WEEKEND COMPARISONS
Key films -- those grossing more than $500,000 for the weekend - took in approximately $84.17 million. Comparisons cannot be made to last year when the comparable weekend was the four-day Presidents Day holiday weekend.
This year, the four-day Presidents Day weekend is one week later (Feb. 18-21). This weekend's key film gross was down about 1.19% compared with the previous weekend when key films grossed $85.18 million.
Last year, Warner Bros.' opening week of "Message In A Bottle" was first with $18.85 million for four days at 2,538 theaters ($7,428 per theater) and Paramount's second week of "Payback" was second with $17.72 million at 2,751 theaters ($6,441 per theater). The top two films one year ago grossed $36.6 million for four days. This year, the top two films grossed an estimated $31.4 million for three days.
STUDIO MARKET SHARES
Based on business by key films, last weekend's top six distributors were the following:
Miramax (Miramax, Dimension) was first with three films ("Scream 3," "Down To You" and "The Cider House Rules") grossing an estimated $19.5 million or 23.2% of the market.
Paramount was second with three films ("Snow Day," "The Talented Mr. Ripley" and "Angela's Ashes") grossing an estimated $17.66 million or 21% of the market.
Twentieth Century Fox was third with one film ("The Beach") grossing an estimated $15 million or 17.8% of the market.
Buena Vista (Touchstone and Disney) was fourth with three films ("The Tigger Movie," "Toy Story 2" and "Fantasia 2000") grossing an estimated $12 million or 14.3% of the market.
Sony Pictures Entertainment (Columbia, TriStar) was fifth with three films ("Stuart Little," "Girl, Interrupted" and "The End Of the Affair") grossing an estimated $4.75 million or 5.6% of the market.
Warner Bros. was sixth with two films ("The Green Mile" and "Any Given Sunday") grossing an estimated $3.76 million or 4.5% of the market.
ADDITIONAL ESTIMATES
(11) "Fantasia 2000"/BV/Disney: Theaters: 54 (0) (all IMAX in U.S.) Gross: $1.80 million (-6%) Average per theater: $33,333 Total: $27.4 million (worldwide)
(12) "The Talented Mr. Ripley"/Paramount/Miramax: Theaters: 1,266 (-563) Gross: $1.76 million (-29%) Average per theater: $1,390 Total: $78 million
(13) "The Cider House Rules"/Miramax: Theaters: 802 (-32) Gross: $1.60 million (-17%) Average per theater: $1,995 Total: $22.7 million
(14) "Down to You"/Miramax: Theaters: 1,719 (-284) Gross: $1.50 million (-45%) Average per theater: $872 Total: $18.5 million
(15) Girl, Interrupted/Columbia: Theaters: 1,380 (-483) Gross: $1.35 million (-47%) Average per theater: $978 Total: $27 million
(16) "Angela's Ashes"/Paramount: Theaters: 614 (0) Gross: $1.10 million (-28%) (tie) Average per theater: $1,792 Total: $10.2 million
(16) "Toy Story 2"/BV/Disney: Theaters: 1,249 (-339) Gross: $1.10 million (-53%) (tie) Average per theater: $816 Total: $238.6 million
(18) "The Sixth Sense"/BV/Touchstone: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(19) "Magnolia"/New Line: Theaters: 497 (-332) Gross: $0.85 million (-34%) Average per theater: $1,710 Total: $20.5 million
(20) "Topsy-Turvy"/USA Films: (see EXPANSIONS above)
21) "Any Given Sunday"/Warner Bros.: Theaters: 1,031 (-526) Gross: $0.72 million (-30%) Average per theater: $695 Total: $74.8 million
(22) "The End of the Affair"/Columbia: Theaters: 585 (-96) Gross: $0.70 million (-34%) Average per theater: $1,197 Total: $9.5 million
(23) "The World Is Not Enough"/MGM: Theaters: 768 (-74) Gross: $0.45 m illion (-30%) Average per theater: $590 Total: $125.8 million
(24) "Snow Falling on Cedars"/Universal: Theaters: 504 (-296) Gross: $0.40 million (-45%) Average per theater: $800 Total: $13.5 million
(25) "Gun Shy"/BV/Hollywood: Theaters: 296 (0) Gross: $0.37 million (-47%) Average per theater: $1,256 Total: $1.3 million
(26) "Being John Malkovich"/USA Films: Theaters: 173 (-34) Gross: $0.25 million (-21%) Average per theater: $1,440 Total: $21.6 million
(27) "Isn't She Great"/Universal: Theaters: 369 (-381) Gross: $0.20 million (-69%) Average per theater: $545 Total: $2.9 million
(28) "End of Days"/Universal: Theaters: 276 (-67) Gross: $0.17 million (-19%) Average per theater: $620 Total: $66.4 million
(29) "The Bone Collector"/Universal: Theaters: 294 (-35) Gross: $0.17 million (-20%) Average per theater: $580 Total: $66.0 million
(30) "Simpatico"/Fine Line: Theaters: 222 (-34) Gross: $0.16 million (-65%) Average per theater: $718 Total: $0.9 million
(31) "Man on the Moon"/Universal: Theaters: 322 (-161) Gross: $0.15 million (-42%) Average per theater: $450 Total: $34.4 million
(32) "Titus"/Fox Searchlight: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(33) "Rear Window"/USA: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(34) "The Cup"/Fine Line: (see EXPANSIONS above)
(35) "My Dog Skip"/Warner Bros. Theaters: 29 (-1) Gross: $0.060 million (-47%) Average per theater: $2,075 Total: $0.5 million
(36) "The Big Tease"/Warner Bros. (see EXPANSIONS above)

Joseph Turner White: What's an associate producer credit?
Bill Smith: It's what you give to your secretary instead of a raise.
--David Mamet's State and Main
These days, it seems that secretaries are receiving producer credits, and it's making the Producers Guild of America hopping mad. The guild is hoping to use the recent writers' talks-during which writers' and directors' credits on a film were a hot-button issue--as a springboard to finally clear up what it means to be a producer, and what it takes to get a producer's credit.
Managers, financiers, partners and the occasional hairdresser all seem to find their way onto film credits these days as producers.
Memorial Day blockbuster Pearl Harbor has 13 producers credited with the birthing of the film. But that's not as uncommon as it sounds.
3,000 Miles to Graceland, which opened earlier this year and starred Kurt Russell and Kevin Costner, lists 10 producers. Last year's Scary Movie had a frightening number of producers: 11.
A pair of 1997 flicks, Face/Off starring Nicolas Cage, and G.I. Jane starring Demi Moore, each credited 10 producers. Sylvester Stallone's 1995 actioner Assassins set the modern-day record with 17 producers.
Quiz Show, an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture, originally had 13 producers. Two were so embarrassed at the lengthy role call they took their names off the list, hoping to induce others to do the same.
Assassins was recently tied by the Samuel L. Jackson whodunit The Caveman's Valentine, which has one director, one writer, one cinematographer, one costume designer, but apparently needed 17 producers.
It's a well-known Hollywood secret that the managers of Sharon Stone, John Travolta and Keanu Reeves often take producer credits for films their clients work on.
"This is Hollywood, so you have to kiss people in. I make 15 movies a year, so I don't fight it. I've got too many movies to make," producer Elie Samaha (Angel Eyes, Driven, The Caveman's Valentine) told the Los Angeles Times.
All of this has watered down the title of producer. Sure, there are such heavyweight producers as Barry Levinson or Jerry Bruckheimer who don't have to share billing with anyone, but it's definitely hurting the careers of many fine producers.
The Producers Guild of America is trying to fight back.
The PGA is taking a two-pronged attack to combat fraudulent producer credits. It will add an onscreen symbol, a Golden Laurel, for those producers who fulfill the guild's producer requirements for a particular film. Eventually, it will introduce a credit arbitration service for producers similar to the one run by the Writers Guild of America for writers.
"The PGA has attempted to create a legitimate accreditation process for producers," Vance Van Patten, the PGA's executive director, said Wednesday. "The process involves a comprehensive review of the producing role, a conceptually sound mechanism for measuring an individual's involvement in that role, and a legitimate system for the consistent application of that mechanism."
To that end the PGA queried some of Hollywood's top producers to identify and enumerate specific production functions. The PGA then whittled that list down to 42 duties; 17 pre-production, 13 during production, and 12 post-production. (The complete list can be seen here.)
A producer must prove that he fulfilled at least half of those duties to qualify for a Golden Laurel from the PGA. No more than three producers per film will be able to receive a Golden Laurel.
The studios and distributors, however, hold current control over the attribution of producer credits. The producer credit is the only one in the studios' hands and unprotected by a governing body, and they are not going to accede that control easily or voluntarily. The WGA, by contrast, holds that power for writers, and not the studios.
The PGA is using its Golden Laurel Awards as a driving reason to convince producers to live up to the currently voluntary procedures. Only producers accredited by the PGA are eligible to win the awards, which are seen as equivalent to the Screen Actors Guild or Directors Guild Awards.
"The first step of the process has been the hardest, gaining approval and legitimacy in our own community of producers," Van Patten told the New York Times. We've won that war. Oh, there are still a few skirmishes with certain producers who won't want to be told what they can and cannot do with their credits, but they are seeing the light, too."
In related union news, contract negotiations between the actors' unions--Screen Actors Guild and the American Federation of Television &amp; Radio Artists--and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers resumed Wednesday under an air of optimism that a strike can be avoided. Despite just 32 days remaining on the current contract, the actors aren't taking a hard, militant line, Variety reports.
British actors also will start their own talks with British producers, which mirror those that are ongoing here in the United States. Equity, the UK actors' union, has threatened that while a strike is a last measure, it is possible. Talks between Equity and the producers' union PACT start on Friday, Reuters reports.